Pharma sales decline at DSM

Full year 2009 sales for DSM declines 11% as a result of low demand from pharmaceutical companies, delay in approvals and the loss of some large contracts. In addition the company recognised a non-cash goodwill impairment charge of €154m from its acquisition of Catalytica.
DSM

Aesica plans expansion

Aesica is seeking to acquire manufacturing facilities in the US and Europe and to add high containment capabilities at one of its sites. The company believes that adding US facilities will help it attract contracts from US pharma customers.
In-pharma Technologist

Cabb has received ISO 14001 certification for its Pratteln, Switzerland, facility

Cabb

Recipharm launches new biologics unit

Following its acquisition of Cobra Biomanufatcuring, Recipharm has combined the two biologics manufacturing businesses into an integrated business, RecipharmCobra Biologics.
Recipharm

EMS Chemie interested in Lonza?

Lonza shares rose on market rumours that EMS Chemie is considering acquiring the company.
Reuters

AMRI acquires Excelsyn

Excelsyn has been acquired by AMRI for $19m. The Holywell, Wales-based business, which was formerly part of Great Lakes, includes kilo lab, pilot plant and large scale manufacturing capabilities. AMRI Chairman and CEO Thomas D’Ambra said, "The acquisition of Excelsyn further builds out AMRI's global continuum and will increase our ability to penetrate a market space relatively untapped to date, including customers in large pharma based in Europe."
Ian Shott, President and Chief Executive of Excelsyn, acquired the Holywell business in 2004 for a £3m package including debt.
Albany Times Union

Pharmatek Laboratories has received Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) registration to manufacture Schedule IV and V controlled substances

Phharmatek

Inabata & Co will market Ampac Fine Chemicals' API manufacturing technologies in Japan

Ampac Fine Chemicals

Codexis selects Dishman and Ampac Fine Chemicals

Dishman has been selected as the preferred contract manufacturer for Codexis. Dishman will use Codexis' biocatalysis technology to manufacture building blocks, intermediates and APIs for innovator pharmaceutical companies. Dishman will also offer the technology to its own customers. Codexis will also collaborate with Ampac Fine Chemicals to expand the application of its technology.
Codexis

Aptuit has introduced a production screen to better understand API characteristics and speed process scale-up

Aptuit

Dottikon will introduce short working to address capacity utilisation fluctuations in some plants from March 2010

Dottikon

Albemarle to provide manufacturing for PharmaCore customers

Albemarle will provide manufacturing services for PharmaCore customers with projects that require high volume capacity. The alliance will allow seamless technology transfer when customers require higher volumes of APIs and active ingredients.
Albemarle

Piramal Healthcare is considering expanding its biologics capacity in Grangemouth, Scotland, according to chairman Ajay Piramal

Money Control

Novasep and Provepharm have successfully validated the cGMP manufacturing process for the Proveblue API

Novasep

Aurelius acquires Isochem

German private equity house Aurelius has acquired Isochem from SNPE for €8m. SNPE will take on €50m in debt from Isochem. The deal is subject to approval by the SNPE board. Unions at Isochem are opposed to the deal and are expected to call for a strike. Aurelius was one of five potential acquirers and was given exclusive negotiating rights in December.
Les Echos

Synthetech sales declined 52% in its Q3 2009 vs 2008

Portland Business Journal

Revenues for AmPac Fine Chemicals fell 53% in the quarter ended 31 December 2009 compared to the same quarter 2008

Las Vegas Review-Journal

Cambrex sales decline in Q4

Cambrex sales decreased by 9.9% in Q4 2009 and full year sales were down 5.3% on 2008. The company said the decrease is primarily due to lower volumes of an API that utilises its polymeric drug delivery technology, lower sales of two APIs manufactured under long-term supply agreements and lower custom development revenues.
Cambrex

Year ends with an upturn for SAFC

Sigma-Aldrich's fine chemicals business, SAFC, had its best quarter of 2009 in Q4, meeting the company's expectations of improved sales as the year ended. CFO, Rakesh Sachdev, put this down to "continued demand for adjuvant products for the H1N1 vaccine production and industrial media for pharmaceutical customers, as well as customer efforts to push early stage clinical trials".
Seeking Alpha

BASF will perform cGMP spray drying tests and pilot productions of APIs at GEA Niro’s Pharma Test Station in Copenhagen

BASF

Ricerca Biosciences will acquire the MDS Pharma Services' discovery and preclinical business and facilities in the US, France and Taiwan

Ricerca

EFCG welcomes excipient amendments

The addition of excipient GMP requirements to the draft amendments of the EU falsified medicines directive has been welcomed by the European Fine Chemicals Group.The European Commission's Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) has proposed GMP requirements for excipients in its draft opinion.
In-Pharma Technologist

International Stem Cell Corporation has opened its Oceanside, CA, facility for production of clinical grade stem cell products

ISCO

Angel Biotechnology will provide consultancy and development services for Progenteq's novel cartilage replacement therapy

IB Times

Socma has welcomed US Senate moves to reauthorise chemical facility security standards

Socma

Dishman's Naroda, Ahmedabad, API manufacturing facility has received US FDA approval

Business Standard

Dishman restructures Carbogen Amcis

Dishman is restructuring its Carbogen Amcis subsidiary. Staff levels have been cut by 20% and a new CEO - currently working at another company in the sector - will join in March. Q3 sales at Carbogen Amcis fell 27% this year and the company expects to save CHF8m through the restructuring.
Business Standard

Recipharm has declared its offer for Cobra Biomanufacturing "unconditional"

InvestEgate

Angel Biotechnology has raised £1.4m through a placing of shares

IB Times

SynCo signs US deal

SynCo Bio Partners will provide process validation and GMP commercial manufacturing services to support the commercial launch of two separate biopharmaceutical products, from an unnamed company, for the US market. The recombinant proteins will be produced in E. coli.
SynCo BioPartners

UKTI and Chemspec USA

UK Trade and Investment is considering running a UK pavilion at the inaugural Chemspec USA show in Philadelphia in May 2011. For further information contact Tricia Francis.

Peakdale Molecular will establish a synthetic chemistry services team of 50 scientists at Pfizer's Sandwich, UK, site

In-Pharma Technologist

Watson acquires Eden

Eden Biodesign has been acquired by Watson Pharmaceuticals for $15m. Watson had previously acquired 36% of the business through a previous acquisition last year. Following the acquisition Eden will continue to offer contract manufacturing services.
Business Week

Tough year for Lonza in 2009; cautiously optimistic for 2010

Lonza's full year results showed a 8.4% fall in sales in 2009 compared to 2008. The company said that clinical results had driven order reductions for its biopharmaceutical manufacturing business. CEO, Stefan Borgas remains optimistic for the future and said the company's previously announced re-engineering would help generate cash flow in 2010.
In-Pharma Technologist

Carbogen Amcis has inaugurated its high containment API facility at Dishman's Bavla, India site

Carbogen Amcis